Watching the Shadows
Military coup d’état against Obama?
Was Rear Admiral Charles M. Gaouette sacked from his command of a Pacific carrier battle group last month because he was plotting a putsch against Obama?
Tag: control of oil
Central America
Colombia rejects Hague ruling in Nicaragua maritime dispute
Protests swept Colombia following a World Court ruling that awarded Caribbean waters potentially rich in hydrocarbons to Nicaragua.
Greater Middle East
Riots rock Jordan, protests shake Kuwait
Riots over rising prices exploded across Jordan, while the oposition held a mass rally in Kuwait to oppose an electoral law aimed at extending the power of the royal family.
The Amazon
Peru: indigenous development plan for Amazon
The Inter-ethnic Association for Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP) issued a “Plan for the Full Life of the Amazon,” calling for indigenous-directed development projects.
East Asia
Multiple flashpoints threaten to ignite East Asia
North Korea threatens military action against the South, South Korea's Coast Guard attacks a Chinese fishing fleet, and China sends a naval force into waters claimed by Japan…
Planet Watch
Petro-oligarchs play presidential candidates —again
The oil and energy industry are funding both candidates—but not equally. Romney has received $6 million from individuals and PACs linked to the industry; Obama $1.6 million.
Inner Asia
Kazakhstan sentences opposition leader to prison
A court in Kazakhstan sentenced an outspoken political activist to seven-and-a-half years in jail for allegedly colluding with a fugitive billionaire to overthrow the government.
The Andes
Third-party candidates marginalized …in Venezuela
In Venezuela as in the US, third-party candidates were roundly ignored by the media—including a veteran labor leader who challenged Hugo Chávez from the left.
East Asia
Japan, Taiwan ships clash with water cannon
Japanese and Taiwanese patrol ships blasted each other with water cannon as a fishing fleet from Taiwan mobilized a protest flotilla to the contested East China Sea islands.
East Asia
Pacific FTAs advance amid Sino-Japanese tensions
China and Japan are moving ahead with new Free Trade Agreements such as the ASEAN+6 pact and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even amid escalated military tensions.
Mexico
Mexico’s prez-elect broaches oil privatization —almost
As a devastating blast rocked a Pemex plant, Mexico’s president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto told business leaders the private sector will help modernize the state-owned giant.
East Asia
East China Sea flashpoint for Sino-Japanese war?
Leon Panetta warned that the latest escalation over islands disputed by China and Japan could lead to war—even as he arrived in Tokyo to inaugurate a new anti-missile system.